1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sheet bending brakes for bending sheet material such as aluminum and vinyl used for siding buildings and other construction uses and, in particular, to a portable platform which may be easily installed and/or removed from the sheet bending brake.
2. Description of Related Art
Sheet bending brakes are well known in the art of building construction for bending sheet material such as aluminum and vinyl on the job site which bent sheet material is then applied as siding or window trim to a building. In general, a sheet bending brake clamps the sheet material between an anvil member and a clamping surface and a hinged bending member bends the sheet material about the anvil member. Typical sheet bending brakes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,161,223; 3,481,174; 3,482,427; 3,559,444; 3,817,075; 4,240,279; 4,321,817; 4,364,254; and 4,512,174. Sheet bending brakes are also shown in ABC Supply Company Inc. Catalog, 1995, on page 52 as Tapco's "Pro III Port-O-Bender", "Windy Port-O-Brake" and "Max-i-mum Brakes". The above patents and catalog are hereby incorporated by reference. Broadly stated, a bending brake comprises a frame, a jaw formed of C-shaped members to accommodate the sheet material, clamping, anvil and bending members.
The sheet material to be bent is normally supplied as a coil and must be uncoiled, measured, cut and bent before it can be applied to the building or other construction site. These operations are difficult to perform because of the nature of the coil and coilers have been developed to provide a simple and effective way to hold the coil and to unroll the amount of material needed when desired. Typical coilers are shown in the ABC catalog, supra, on page 53, as the Tapco Port-O-Coiler and Tapco Pro II Coiler. Brake users typically perform the uncoiling, measuring and cutting of the material on the ground or on a separate table which procedures are inefficient and time consuming and are not cost effective. Also, it is often necessary to place a cut sheet of material aside while working on another piece and storage and retrieval of such cut material is another problem facing the user.
These problems have been recognized in the industry and a number of patents have issued showing a combined sheet bending brake and platform which will support a piece of sheet material without interfering with the operation of the brake. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,254, supra, a table is permanently secured to the sheet bending brake and extends horizontally and rearwardly from the clamping surface (front) of the sheet bending brake and a coil stand is mounted on the end of the sheet bending brake. The axis of the roll of sheet stock extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the sheet bending brake so that a length of sheet material can be unrolled from the coil stand onto the table, severed from the remainder of the coiled stock and manually transferred from the table to the sheet bending brake for bending. The table is mounted on a plurality of longitudinally spaced brackets which are pivotally attached to the C-shaped members of the brake in the area of the juncture of the upper and lower arms of the C-shaped members and preferably adjacent the lower arm by an arrangement which includes bolts extending through the C-shaped members. When not in use the table is designed to be pivoted rearwardly out of the area of the sheet bending brake. When the table is in the horizontal position for use hand knobs and bolts are used to secure and limit the upperward movement of the table with the bolt extending beneath a flange of the upper arm of the C-shaped member. This patent also discloses that the coil stand is secured to the brake frame by brackets on the coil which extend into tubular rails of the brake frame.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,174, supra, a platform for a bending brake is shown wherein the platform is connected to the frame of the bending brake to provide a platform which is below the upper arm of the C-shaped members and at about the level of the lower arm of the C-shaped member and at the rear of the bending brake. This design is only useful for storing sheet material and is of no use to facilitate measuring, cutting and bending of the sheet material.
As far as applicant is aware, there is no bending brake having a combined platform or table which platform is easy to install and/or remove and is inexpensive and effective for the contractor to use. The table of the combined sheet bending brake, table and coil support of U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,254, supra, is difficult to assemble to its horizontal position, makes the bending brake heavy since it is an integral permanent part of the brake structure and the brake is unwieldly to store and move.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sheet bending brake having a platform which platform is easy to install and/or remove and which is inexpensive and effective for use by the user of the brake.
A further object of the invention is to provide a platform bracket for use with a bending brake to provide a support surface for supporting a platform.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description.